What was in the workshop last week? Stephen's black Final Edition
 

I'm a bit late on this one since I just ran out of energy to do the thread while I was doing the car.

Stephen (Tintin) brought down his gorgeous black FE for a few jobs, namely fitting a Milltek exhaust, doing cam belt, engine service and tensioner pads, and a bit of interior fettling.

This is the task list:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

The first challenge though was opening the bonnet, as the cable had snapped! With that done, I then set about removing 3 litres of rain water from the rain tray due to blocked drains.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985220

In the process the sucky tool pulled out all sorts of gunge!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

The usual build up of leaves and schmutz

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

Definitely something wrong here!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

Someone has been in here before as the clips were all broken and the cables all routed the wrong way

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

A8parts supplied a replacement cable and I routed it the correct way

New cable ties in the wing

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

fixed in place with the proper fitting

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985128

Now on to the actual work :)

The passenger seat thigh bolster had come adrift

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

The seam which holds the leather to the base had just popped out so simple to fix with the seat out of the car

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

Remove two circlips and the thigh bolster slides off its mounting rails for easier access

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

Tuck the seam back in to the slot

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

Done

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

All back together

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

Someone had butchered the dash panels :mad: I didn't have time to fix this so I'll get this on the second visit.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

As there had been a fair bit of water ingress I removed all the seats so I could run the dehumidifier inside while I was doing the mechanical work. It was also easier to clean and condition the luscious red leather while it was out of the car +++

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1553985831

I've had this on my D2. I think some people just rip off these panels, and then find out afterwards how they're attached.

Looking forward to seeing Herman in all his red glory.

The perpetrator of this mess actually stuck the broken part to the back of the panel with masking tape for someone else to fix later :rolleyes:

Next job - find out why the ECU won't communicate with VCDS. No continuity between the body harness and ecu connector...

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

Well, there's your problem! I unwrapped the engine harness and this wire just broke when I touched it.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

Look at the bulges in the insulation! This wire, somehow, has corroded from the inside out. These bulges are all along its length apart from an inch at either end, so the water hasn't got in from the ends. It's been absorbed through the PVC jacket, but only this wire! All the others are perfectly fine :Confused:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

Cut out the bad wire and spliced in a new piece

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

Comms re-established, I wrapped the harness up again and put it all back to bed

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554064389

Good grief thats in a state loads of problems there! :(

Excellent work +++

Well done Doctor

Good fix

I’m in awe of your work MJ.

Another great thread +++

Someone knows their SH##! Sorry that’s the only way I could express.:D

We all love these posts.
Not all of us may comment but we all love them. Especially when our own cars have been in this situation. +++

On to the tensioner pads. Front end off and locking tools in.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Removed the coil packs and wiring harness to get access to the cam covers

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Started on the passenger side

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Whenever I'm working on an engine with the belt off I cable-tie the locking bar to the cams so they can't move. The passenger side has a habit of jumping round 15 degrees when you're not watching!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Spotless inside :love: This engine has been dealer-serviced to this point and fed almost exclusively on V-power or Momentum fuel and it obviously likes it. I've never seen an engine this clean inside (apart from my brand new one).

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Still an oily mess on the outside though :ROFL:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

New pads in place

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Ready for the cover to go back on with a new gasket

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

That side done

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Even in a spotless engine, the pads are still worn - the #1 cause of premature engine failure in D2s. Shown above the pad, the #2 cause - the hydraulic belt tensioner.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554152087

Those of you of a nervous disposition might want to skip ahead a bit here so here's a picture of some ridiculously cute bunnies:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554153016









Are you still here? Are you really sure???

Here's Lisbeth and Gizmo while you prepare yourself....

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554153016


Ok, don't say I didn't warn you......





http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554154319








This is the driver's side tensioner as it came out :eek:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554153016


Holy ****!!! The pad broke in half on the drive here :eek2: The engine literally had minutes to live! I removed the tensioner and the pad stayed in the engine, broken in half sitting on the chain. One more cold start and it would have spat out the pieces of the pad and valves would have met pistons.

I had to go and have some cake after I found this. I forgot to take any more photos.


Talk about dodging a bullet.

Thanks goodness for the bunnies, cats and cake! That was a near miss for Stephen. I wonder what mine will be like?

So close :-(

MJ - wife wants to knnow the breed of the cats (not interested in the near engine fatality...)?

They are Maine Coons :) They're about a year old in the pic. They are both considerably larger now!

I want another Maine Coon - loved mine (30th birthday present!) - this time we should have two +++

Great swerve on the engine destruction stakes!

Just for information, here's a genuine Audi timing belt hydraulic tensioner next to an INA one. They clearly came out of the same mould, but the INA one is missing the Audi logo and part number:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

The water ways are similarly as spotless as the internals

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

New pump and thermostat and all new original bolts. The old bolts have the familiar green zinc coating (well, most of them are rusty by now), but new ones are black. This is a new coating which mixes better with aluminium and lasts longer.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

A familiar mess down at the crank sprocket

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

That's better

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

This bushing thing has to come out - its just a sliding fit so a couple of magnetic pick-up sticks can encourage it out

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

With the oil seal removed the oil pump chain is visible. The sprocket for this is actually driven by friction from the bushing which is held in by the crank sprocket.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

New oil seal in

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

Bushing back in and sprocket back on with a new bolt. The torque on this bolt is immense - 240Nm then 180° :eek2:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

Belt all done

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554242333

Epic!

The bung on the front of the inlet manifold tends to perish and fall off leaving a big vacuum leak. This is an enterprising solution, but not good enough :p

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

Better :)

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

Nicht gerfingerpoken rusty oil sumps :-( Obviously I poked this after refilling the oil, but I guess this is the best place for it to spring a leak. Sumps are still available new, but on back order so A8parts supplied a replacement next-day +++

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

Engine all buttoned up

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

Nice and clean now

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

On to the Milltek. This was originally a facelift system which had been modified to fit a pre-facelift. I had to modify it back again!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

A couple of pieces of 60mm stainless tube tacked in place. This was actually several hours of fiddling and fettling which included adjusting the gearbox mounts to get the downpipes to line up!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

Tig welded

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

All hooked up. Note no H-pipe. This was lost when it was originally modified and we decided to leave it out to see what it sounds like. Pretty damn epic actually :love:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554410320

Looks at thread...

….looks at Bank Account...

+1 ;)

Cheers - she did say they look like Maine Coons and wants one but I told her not until the current cat passes away ;)

So Stephen, whilst your car was a notable winner of several accolades, underneath it all it was a right mess.... :p :D

After saying that I'm now afraid of arranging an appointment with Dr D2 in case mine turns out worse :o

Maybe there should be a 'best engine bay' award this year!

It’ll be between me and Stephen, then! ;)

As this is a Mackie's gearbox, I'm not touching it :p I contrived this arrangement to replace the ATF lost when the cooler lines were removed from the radiator. Attach the lower cooler line, pour ATF in the funnel until it stops taking it, then put the upper line back on.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

Both CV boots needed replacing

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

Clips removed

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

Cut the boot in half and remove it

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

A sharp whack to the centre of the joint with a chisel and lump hammer will pop it off the circlip

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

Slide the joint off the splines

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

The circlip is on the left. The plastic bushing and cup-spring on the right hold the joint tightly on the splines. These all get replaced

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

With the hardware removed, I put a plastic bag over the splines so the boot slides on without getting caught on any sharp edges

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

New circlip, bush and cup-spring

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

Rotate the shaft to vertical for the next bit

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

New grease

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

The joint is just sitting on the end of the spline now

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

Put a spare bolt in the end of it to use as a drift

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

Another sharp whack with the lump hammer knocks it over the circlip and it's locked in position again

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

The new boot is held in place with the proper crimp clips. Any mechanic who uses cable ties on CV boots should have his tools confiscated :tuttut:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837858

This is the proper tool for crimping the clips

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

On to the other side. Not only was this boot held on with a cable tie, but whichever donkey had messed with it had beaten on the outer joint with a hammer and not bothered to to replace the bushing or cup spring so the joint was loose on the spline :mad: I assembled it properly of course. It is trivial to do this stuff properly, and a OEM GKN Lobro CV boot kit is £10. Why bodge it? :Confused:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554837754

When I pulled the front panel I noticed that the radiator air guide speed-nuts were getting pretty crusty:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

I keep these in stock so replaced them

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

The undertray hardware was missing, broken or bodged so replaced it all with new genuine hardware

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

The electronics box needed the usual repair

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

Engine bay all done :)

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

Interior stuff again - the centre vent was broken

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

The pin had broken off the end of the slat

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

I'd got to about this point when Jim arrived!

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928952

I brought Jim's in for a quick triage at this point so took a pic while they were all out in the sun together :)

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1554928649

Great work! ++++++

Seems a bit drastic for a single broken vent slat! :eek:

Michaela,

Going back to the chain tensioner pads, you were saying that you cable tied the exhaust cam to the cam locking bar to stop it trying to move 15°...

It's my understanding that the cam gears are held on a taper, so I've got two questions;
1. How did you keep timing while you pulled the timing belt cam gear off?
2. With the cam gear removed (and the locking bar locating bushing presumably removed with it), what did you attach the locking bar to to keep timing?

I'm missing something here I'm sure! Does the locating bushing go back on and is it keyed or something?

I'll have to do this job eventually on mine, so I want to know how to keep timing when removing the cam timing gear.
It's something I expect I'll learn during the head reassembly on the Silver car!

Yes +++ I'll snap a couple of pics to explain.

Cam stuff:

This is the cam sprocket attached. As noted, its a taper fit on the cam so held on by the torque of the bolt.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555012864

This is the locking plate. Both cams have flats milled on to them such that the locking plate only fits one way round, and its sandwiched between the sprocket and the washer under the bolt head.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555012864

This is the locking plate and bolt in place without the sprocket. The locking plate is loosely pushed on to the flats on the cam and then the bolt holds it in place

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555012864

The right hand bank 1 cam will happily just sit there with no belt or sprocket. The left hand bank 2 cam though will rotate clockwise with very little provocation (especially on the V6), but generally won't move when you just take the belt off so its simple enough to dismantle everything to do the belt without it escaping. But, as soon as you loosen the inlet cam and chain tensioner, it will jump round on its own thus I keep the bar in at all times except when removing or refitting sprockets, the belt, or the water pump (because the bar gets in the way). Its not that important when only doing the belt though.

The engine in this pic ^ is sitting on a pallet with no timing gear and both cams are still lined up. When I pull it apart to do the tensioners, that's when I'll put the bar pack in +++

It was a little more than that ;) Stephen had commented that occasionally the shifter would get stuck, and on investigation I discovered a fault code in the TCU for the V110 shifter interlock solenoid. Since I had a spare shifter I swapped it over. V110 is the silver cylinder on the bottom left of the shifter here.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

Old shifter removed - this is how much stuff you have to remove to get to it :eek3:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

Replacement fitted

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

I forgot to take any more pics of putting the rest of the interior in. Stephen's and Jim's had to play bunk beds for a night until Stephen's went home! Since Stephen's had just had all its leaks fixed, it got top bunk :D

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

Who's sleeping in my bed? :tuttut:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

The last step - a new relay box cover made from marine ply. I wanted to infuse this with polyester resin to make it completely waterproof but I ran out of time. I'll do that next time.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

A brace of beautiful black Final Editions basking in the sunshine :love: Stephen's waiting to be picked up, Jim's waiting to come in.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1555013779

I’m going to suggest a new trophy fr the Annual Meet - for the person who posts a D2 question that MJ doesn’t answer in almost no time at all! Apart from this amazing lady’s knowledge and mechanical expertise (should that be ‘genius’?), her commitment to this forum is outstanding! Just need to find out her favourite tipple to take when I pick the car up. I’m running out of superlatives!

Thanks MJ!
You're a champ!

One word describes MJ . . . Magic :love:

More like MaJic. +++

It was - but nothing too serious or terminal, though that might not have been the case had the chain pad not managed to hang on till the bitter end: Herman's had very little TLC over the last three years, and I could tell on the drive down that he was well overdue the sort of care that Michaela provides.

Underneath it all however, he was basically in very good nick - as MJ's comments about the engine condition show - but just needed a good thorough service and lots of little(ish...) jobs done. Oh, and the Milltek fitted +++.

It is extraordinary how much better the car now feels and drives - almost as responsive as my Tesla now, which is saying something. And well worth booking an appointment with the doctor, David. You know you want to.

I am having the said same issue with my VCDS Lite. Actually with my cheapo reader as well. The cheapo says linking error, VCDS unable to connect. Did you go direct to the ECU or are there prior items to check? I have checked the terminals at the OBD2 port and all seems good, used a breakout box and the resistance between terminals also seems to check out.

I checked continuity between the OBDII port and the ecu box connector, which was fine, and then from the ecu box connector to the ecu itself, which wasn't.

Do you have wiring diagrams? I know the diag pin on the ecu is #43 but I can't remember which plug it's on in the ecu box.

Thanks MJ.

I think I have diagrams, just need a quick refresh. Will go digging next week. +++

This seems similar to sticky selector I sometimes get, doesn't want to move easily out of Park